We acknowledge that the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee resides on the lands of the Cherokee, Miccosukee, Yuchi (Tsoyaha) Indigenous People, Shawnee, and Chickasaw First Peoples.
In fact, the name of our state, Tennessee, is derived from two First Peoples name for the area. The Cherokee town of Tanasi (or “bend in the river”) was located in present day Vonore. The name also derives from the Yuchi name Tana-tsee-dgee, which means “where the waters meet”, a very accurate description of the Tennessee valley and its tributary system.
A Prayer from an Indigenous Peoples’ Day liturgy prepared by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona
Creator, you bent the earth like a bow until was one, round, shining planet. At your word the land was drawn into mountains and deserts, forests, and plains; the waters were gathered together into rivers, lakes and seas. The circle of your creation has been broken time and again by greed and violence and many lives have been shattered. Renew the circle of the earth and turn the hearts of all your people to one another; that they and all the earth may live, and be drawn toward you and through the power of your son, Jesus Christ, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit now and always. Amen.
A helpful tool for discovering the lands of the First Peoples is the Native Land tool: https://native-land.ca/
As we are also a diocese of book-ish people, Bro. Andrew highly recommends “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History” by Ned Blackhawk by Yale University Press.
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Photo by Sophia Forbes on Unsplash